I would go with the OEM expansion tank. There are a few folks who had issues with aftermarket stuff.
Edit: air filter and cabin air filter?
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Did the air & cabin filter last fall also. I consider those low-hanging fruit, so not much planning involved for that. As for the expansion tank, yeah, I've read about the problems with aftermarket, but didn't notice Behr among the culprits. Maybe I missed it, but isn't Behr the OEM supplier (according to TMS)? Or is "Hella-Behr" different from "Behr"? Behr has a pretty good rep with most things from what I've seen.
I used Duralast for one of my pulleys last year when I was in a pinch... it's been fine
This from the Turner Motorsport description of the tank I ordered:
"This is the most recent expansion tank design from Hella-Behr, the OEM supplier to BMW. It replaces the original BMW part number 17137787039." Maybe I misinterpreted this as saying Behr produced the original tanks. Confusing, the way they worded this.
Same thing happened to my 1999 e46, missing pulley. I remember taking the car to my Indy for an oil change, my first time going there. He called me and asked if I planned to keep the car for a long time. I said yes, and he stated "you better start to take good care of it." And then shared the news with me.
The missing part was resting on top of the belly pan.
With my ET still mounted in my car, I can't see any sign of the M on any spot visible to me. Perhaps it has already been replaced... Regardless, I'll take your word for it.
Lo and behold, I went looking for my pulley and there it is, sitting on the belly pan roughly under the steering rack. I'll attempt to fish it out tomorrow and see if I can deduce how it separated. I saw no evidence of trauma to any of the surrounding parts, including the fan blades, which is very close. Still mysterious how this could happen so cleanly without causing any noticeable hiccup.
If the pulley bearing dried out, it will create a lot of heat which probably melted the pulley just enough for it to separate from the bearing and pop off...that would be my theory.